A Fine Thanksgiving Day Dinner And Then There's The Weekend !

It was a fine Thanksgiving Day for me as I was the guest of two of my favorite people, Hector and Lourdes. One of the things I enjoy is the variety of dishes that are served with dinner. It is also very interesting to see the diversity of these dishes as they are affected by one's background and customs.

Lourdes had already prepared many different snacks and finger food for those whose appetites were already clamoring for something to nibble on. My youthful experiences of filling up on too much bread, salads and finger foods reminded me to eschew the snacks and save that space for dinner. My pal, Hector broke open a bottle of Dewars 12 year scotch, which we sipped outside at his poolside bar.

It was a beautiful and tasty dinner indeed with turkey (the guest of honor), arroz con frijoles negro (white rice and black beans), a candied yam souffle, and many other side dishes. The evening desert was hot apple pie and ice cream. Additionally, the traditional sweet taste of turrones is one of my favorites and is almost always at every dinner party or celebration.

My sincere thanks to Hector and Lourdes for a very nice Thanksgiving Day and dinner.

The News As I See It: Black Friday is definitely not a day for the likes of me. Don't get me wrong, I like shopping, but I don't get up early for anything except fishing or taking a pee. I especially abhor large crowds of unruly dimwits who have camped outside of stores for many hours and smell like the north end of a south bound mule. Savings on the purchases of new, top of the line electronics notwithstanding, I'll gladly wait another five or six months down the line and prices will probably drop anyway.

California Vinters in the Napa Valley area, which primarily produces Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir and Pinot Griglo wines, have developed a new hybrid grape that acts as an anti-diuretic. It is expected to reduce the number of trips older people have to make to the bathroom during the night. The new wine will be marketed as Pino More.

For those of you who follow Possum's Journal, he made an entry yesterday and, of course, he made a few remarks about me. You can read his post by cicking this link. Possum's Journal

This Date In History: 1852; Lord Byron's daughter Ada died. She had assisted Charles Babbage with his "analytical engine" and is credited with inventing computer language. 1895; Alfred Nobel signed his last will, which established the Nobel Prize. More than a century later, Nobel would roll over in his grave when he learned who had been awarded the 2009 peace prize.

1910; New York's Pennsylvania Station opened. 1953; Playwright Eugene O'Neill died in Boston at age 65. 1970; Pope Paul VI was attacked at the Manila airport by a Bolivian painter disguised as a priest. 1973; Gerald R. Ford was confirmed by the Senate to become vice president, succeeding Spiro T. Agnew. 2003; President Bush secretly flew to Iraq to spend Thanksgiving with the troops.

Picture Of The Day: It was only a matter of time before the photoshop folks took cracks at President Obie's tendency to bow to foreign dignitaries. I took some of the best ones to show you today.

Additionally, yesterday was Tina Turner's 70th birthday and she looks great and is still going strong. Finally, the featured picture is a reflection of my mood and intentions for this Thanksgiving Day weekend.

Printable Things I Never Told You: 1) It's about time I cleared up this mystery. I shot the deputy, but I did not shoot the sheriff. 2) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician. 3) Sex is one of the nine reasons for reincarnation. The other eight are unimportant. 4) Pedro, a musician friend of mine, never was much of a success playing the flamenco tuba. 5) I finally bought a device for removing shrink-wrap from CDs. It slices right through it, but I can't get it out of the package.....and that's five !

Birthdays: Anders Celsius, astronomer 1701, Charles A. Beard, historian 1874, Chaim Weizmann, scientist and Zionist leader 1874, James Agee, writer 1909, Alexander Dubček, statesman 1921, Alexander Haig, American General, Secretary of State 1924, Jimi Hendrix, rock musician, guitarist 1942, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, writer 1957.

The AREA 51 Retirement Home Bar and Grill: Two businessmen in Florida were sitting down for a break in their soon-to-be new store. As yet, the store wasn't ready, with only a few shelves set up. One said to the other, "I'll bet any minute now, some senior citizen is going to walk by, put his face to the window, and ask what we're selling."

No sooner were the words out of his mouth when, sure enough, a curious senior citizen walked to the window, had a peek, and in a soft voice asked "What are you selling here?" One of the men replied sarcastically, "We're selling assholes." Without skipping a beat, the old timer said, "You're doing well. Only two left."

The Hits Just Keep On Coming: Since retailers begin hawking their wares for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving, it's only fitting that I give you the first Christmas joke of the season. My thanks to my pal, Garnett, for his contribution to today's stories.

Three men died on Christmas Eve and were met by Saint Peter at the pearly gates. In honor of this holy season, Saint Peter said, "You must each possess something that symbolizes Christmas to get into heaven.

The first man fumbled through his pockets and pulled out a lighter. He flicked it on and said "It represents a candle." Saint Peter said, "You may pass through the pearly gates."

The second man reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He shook them and said, "They're bells." Saint Peter said, "You may pass through the pearly gates"

The third man started searching desperately through his pockets and finally pulled out a pair of women's panties. St. Peter looked at the man with a raised eyebrow and asked, "And just what do those symbolize?" The man replied, "These are Carols."

The kids filed back into class Monday morning. Their weekend assignment was to sell something, then give a talk on productive salesmanship. Little Sally led off and said, "I sold girl scout cookies and I made $30. My sales approach was to appeal to the customer's civil spirit and I credit that approach for my obvious success." The teacher said, "Very good, Sally." said the teacher.

Little Jenny was next and said, "I sold magazines. I made $45 and I explained to everyone that magazines would keep them up on current events." The teacher said, "That's great, Jenny!"

Eventually, it was Little Johnny's turn. Little Johnny walked to the front of the classroom and dumped a box full of cash on the teacher's desk and said, "$2,467!" The teacher exclaimed, "2,467? What in the world were you selling?" Little Johnny said, "Toothbrushes."

The teacher said, "How could you possibly sell enough tooth brushes to make that much money?" Little Johnny said, "I found the busiest corner in town. Then, I set up a Dip & Chip stand and I gave everybody who walked by a sample."

"They all said the same thing, 'Hey, this tastes like shit!'" Then I said, 'It is shit. Wanna buy a toothbrush?'"

That's it for today my little candied yams. Remember, families and friends are like fudge....mostly sweet, with a few nuts. It's Friday and I'm going to AREA 51 for Happy Hour and give thanks for some extended Thanksgiving frolic. Giddyup!

Have a great weekend and more on Monday.

Stay Tuned !